Intel’s Planned TV Service Is Facing These Roadblocks

Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) planned pay-TV service has encountered some hiccups, as it now seems more unsure than ever if the company will be able to get the programming it would need to get the service off the ground.

Intel’s service would be competing with online streaming providers like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Hulu Plus — which is jointly owned by News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS), and Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) — in addition to traditional cable and satellite TV providers like DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) and Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH). Though Intel is promising its set-up box and streaming service would have the most cutting edge technology, the company still needs to get content licensing deals to put that technology to use.

Media companies have been more willing to license content to Neflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) streaming service through Amazon Prime, because those services offer only on-demand TV and movies. The planned Intel service would offer live programming as well, so cable providers are seeing it as a direct competitor to their own services.